High speed railway with propeller driven streamline vehicles



g- 1932- F. KRUCKENBERG ET AL 1,870,738

HIGH SPEED RAILWAY WITH PROPELLER DRIVEN STREAMLINE VEHICLES Filed Sept.6, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1932- F. KRUCKENBERG 51' AL 1,870,738

HIGH SPEED RAILWAY WITH PROPELLER DRIVEN STREAMLINE VEHICLES Filed Sept.6, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 9, 1932 Umrsn smrssl PATENT F 1mma KRUcKnnBEn-e MID FRITZ HEYNEB,

AssrenoR T SAID KBUCKENBERG or HEIDELBERG, GERMANY; SAID nnimnn T HIGHSPEED RAILWAY WITH PROPELLER DRIVEN STREAMLINE VEHICLES Applicationfiled September 6, 1929, Serial No.

-Various attempts have been made to increase the travelling speeds ofvehicles running on the earths surface, as for example railways andmotor cars, over those usual at present; These attempts were notsuccessful as to safety-and economical operation. For on'the one hand tomake travelling with high speeds economical the weight'and resistance ofthe vehicle running on a suitable track must be low, while on the otherhand safety requires high'weights with the above mentioned transportmeans. Railway vehicles with low weight and high speed do not hold thetrack reliably owing to their relatively hard tracks and want ofresiliency between the rail and wheel rim and with lateral forces thewheels may even climb the rail which leads to certain derailment. Withmotor cars at high speeds low weight easily leads todanger of skidding.Moreover, safe operation of a very fast motor car is impossibleinunfavourable atmospheric conditions.

' The present invention provides a new I standing railwayfor highspeedswith a high degree of safety by combining thegood properties ofrailways and automobiles; The functions of supporting and guiding thevehicle are fundamentally separated from each other. The new railwayemploys a propeller driven vehicle of the lightest possible constructionwhich vehicle is of streamline form, and is carried by wheels with softelastic tires running onan unyielding track, and the vehicle is guidedlaterally by-hard guide wheels running on a rail laidas accurately aspossible, laterally resiliently supported, and welded end to end oyerthe entire length of the track. [The guide wheels and the steel guiderail serve for starting and braking.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is 'a cross section, Figure 2 aplan and Figure 3 an elevation on a smaller scale, of the ve hicle withthe tracs. Figures 1, 5 and G are cross sections of other forms of railsup porting structure.

The outer body of the vehicle comprises a spacious panelling orframework, which is enclosed by a light elastic skin. The vehicle has astreamline form adapted to its proximity to the earths surface. ,Withinthe outer 390,770, and in Germany September 13, 1928. I

body 101s an inner body 11 containing the passenger compartment 16 andconstructed very much like a van with side walls anda floor and coveredlike an'aeroplane frame. The covering of the inner body is of heat andsound insulating material. The inner body 11 is laterally sprung inrelation to the outer body or suspended therefrom by pendulum bars 12.It may also be vertically sprung in relation thereto. The outer bodylOcarries the drivers compartment 13, the engine and transmission gear 14:with the propeller 15,; wheels 17 ,the guiding running the carrying gear18 and the brake gear. 1 I

The carrying wheels 17 are large wheels, mountedindependently in theouter body 10. They areprovided' with soft elastic tires or withpneumatic tires and can be pivoted' directly to the outer'bodywithout-the interposition of special springs. Naturally these wheelscan-be provided with small starting motors and brakes. 'The horizontalor nearly; horizontalguide wheels 18 have hard rims Each two guidewheels stand one opposite the other and run on the heads of a doubleheaded rail 19. Theguide wheels 18 can have two flanges; they are thenvertically guided and must be resiliently supported relatively to thevehiclebody 10, as by the aid of a spring 20. Abutments 21 are then pr0-vided to limit the spring movement, so as to avoid tipping over thevehicle. The guide wheels are advantageously used for braking andstarting, since the particular location of the guide rail ensures thebest condition of rail surface for braking and starting with leasteffect thereon by the weather, while the hardrims of the guide'wheelsenable the 'use. v

of high pressure between guide wheels and guide rail necessary forobtaining high accelerat-ion in'starting and rapid retardation inbraking. The guide wheels 18 are so held in relation to each other bysprings. 22 that upon thepressure of one wheel against the rail beingdecreased the opposite one is pressed more strongly against the rail.limiting device 23 is provided so that at no time the wheels can loseengagement with the rail. The two guide wheels 18 are laterally sprungin common with a second sprlng arrangement 24 with respect to the bodyby, for example, a pivotally connected rod 25,

so that the guiding forces and lateral shocks on the lateral guidinggear are reduced in transmission to the body 10. Naturally here also anabutment is provided whichlimits the extent of possible lateral movementof the lateral guiding gear with respect to the body 10.

The'central guide railenables an emergency rail brake to be provided.This consists of two brake shoes 26 which can grip the rail 19 fromopposite sides. Advantageously this braking device is also sprung, withrespect to the vehicle body. Further, the emergency brakeis so formed,that the shoeparts 27 lying i opposite the rail head serve as anemergency support and catchingdevice if a Wheel should break.

The track consists ofthe central rail and two lateral supportingsurfaces. It guides the vehicle accurately in the desiredpat-h and alsoprovides as smooth aspossible a support for the carrying wheels. Forthis purpose thelaterally guiding rail 19 is laid as accurately aspossible along the desired path and .weldedi into a continuous length sothat all blows which could endanger the rigidly-sup,

so ported parts of the lateral guiding gear are.

avoided. ;Naturally, this lateral guiding rail has a certain elasticity;it securedby plates 28' to the cantiIeverS29,which itself is secured tothe track supporting structure 31 r by. adjustable bearers, 30. The.carrying.

wheels .17 are provided with highlyrelasti'c rims "so that; the runningsurfaces for them need not be absolutely. continuous and smooth. 'In theillustratedexample. (Figures. 1 and. 4) the carrying wheels 17 run onconcrete surfaces 32. These concrete surfaces 32 .can be parts ofconcrete. carrying members 31 which are mounted onbase plates 33. Thepurposeof the carrying members 31 is to lift the running track a certaindistance above'the ground so as to avoid the influence. ofthe groundsurface- -dirt and so forth-and of weather snowobstruction and so forth.The track supporting structure can consist of a series ofshort-members34 (Figure 3), which are made either on the spot, or made in afactoryand then delivered and set up in position. Curves in the run-fnlng surface at changes inslopeneed not be made if the members'are onlyshort enough. It is possible, however, to-support the track in carriers35 which can be mounted by adjustable supports 36-on separatefoundations 37 4). Obviously instead of the concrete running surface 32,correspondingly shaped plank or rolled section tracks, for

example wide rails or channel sections 38,

Figures 5 and 6 can be used. It isthen ad- 'v'antageous- (Figure 6) toform the track members 32 and the lateral guiding rail 19 into a singlestructure andmount it adjustably at 39, on a carrying structure 31.Figure 5 shows the construction of the carrying structure in iron. Thisis particularly advantageous in undulating ground where the track maylie high above ground. The lateralguiding rail 19 is. elastically sprungby a cantilever 40 with respect tothe supporting structure 31, and thecantilever 40 can at the same time serve as a'force transmitting memberof the cross construction 41 between the main supports 42 of thestructure.

We claim 1. A high speed vehiclefcomprising a 'innerbody from the'upperportion of said outer body. c V

4. A high speed vehicle comprising an outer body having anoperatingcompartment at its front end, a motor compartment at its rear end, aninner body. comprisinga passenger carrying compartment, and .meansmounting said inner bodyin the said outer body between said operatingcompartment and said motor compartment.

5. A high speed vehicle for operation on a pair of spacedsupportingrails and a central guiding rail comprising, a body ofstreamline shape having a depending portion provided with a central,longitudinally extending slot, supporting wheels disposed substantiallywithinsaid body, a pair'of guiding wheels and means mounting saidguiding wheels in the depending'portionof said body one on each side ofthe slot. r

r 6. 'A high speed vehicle comprising an outer body of streamline shape,an inner body disposed therein, and supporting wheels and guiding wheelscarried on and disposed sub stantially entirely within said outer body.

7 -A high speed vehicle for use with a supporting track and a guidingrail comprising a track, a pair of guiding wheels, means movablyfmounting said guiding wheels on said track for engagement withoppositesides-of saidguiding rail, and means resiliently urging saidwheels into engagement'with said guiding rail. r

8. The invention as set forth in claim 7, wherein is provided means forlimiting the movement of said guiding wheels away from said guidingrail.

9. A high speed vehicle for use with a supporting track and a guidingrail comprising a track, a pair of brake shoes, and means mounting saidbrake shoes on said track for engagement with opposite sides of saidguid-u mg rail.

10. A high speed vehicle for use with a supporting track and a guidingrail, comprising 1 a body, supporting gear and guiding wheels carriedthereon, and braking means mounted on said body for engagement with saidguiding rail-s and including a member extending laterally above theguiding rail, whereby in case of the breakage of said supporting gear,

12. A track for a high speed vehicle comprising a pair of spacedparallel supporting rails, a guiding rail disposed between and parallelto said supporting rails and means including an elastic upstandingcantilever member for supporting said guiding rail. 13. A track for ahigh speed vehicle com prising a frame having a pairof spaced parallelrails for supporting a vehicle, a guiding rail disposed between andparallel to said supporting rails and means resting upon said frame andincluding an upstanding cantilevpr member for supporting said guidingrai 1 tures.

FRANZ KRUCKENBERG. FRITZ HEYNER.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signa-

